NEW MUSIC: John Medeski and Jeff Firewalker Schmitt pay tribute to The Last Poets with hip-hop single “LAST POETS FIRST/UKUPACHA”

Saint Disruption, the soul-inspired, collaborative music group consisting of John Medeski,  of Medeski Martin & Wood, and scientist and folk healer Jeff Firewalker Schmitt, have released their latest single “Last Poet First / Ukupacha,” an ode to New York City’s Last Poets and the founder, Umar Bin Hassan.

“Last Poet First / Ukupacha” includes vocals from Boston-based musician Lyric Jones and Austn Haynes of Free Radio, and is one of the seven tracks on Saint Disruption’s debut album ‘Rose In The Oblivion,’ out April 8th.

I’m a student of history,” Schmitt told American Songwriter in a recent interview. “And I always go back to the artists who build new bridges of understanding that never existed before. The Last Poets did that in New York City in the 70s by bringing poetry and music together in a way that gave the oppressed a voice and allowed that voice to enter our bodies. And before long, hip-hop walked across that bridge.”